Quote:
Originally posted by WilMac1023:
Not a waste? What absolute gluttony is more like it.

There's a gigantic difference between spending thousands of dollars to go someplace you've never been like Ireland or Australia (which I can justify), and someone blasting through 300 gallons of gasoline because they wanted to sit out in the lake.

You could drive across the country, from Atlantic to Pacific, at least once on what this woman burned through sitting on a lake. It may be her money, but it's the rest of us who will pay in the long run, because of people like that.

No wonder the rest of the world hates us.
This is all a relative concept. Sure - I could drive across the country for less gas than that, but that doesn't mean I'd enjoy it any more than she enjoyed her weekend on the lake.

If you're attempting to make the green argument about not wasting gas, realize that what she did (while large in a specific sense) isn't what's truly wasteful overall. There are much bigger fish to fry in this - hell, owning an Xterra is likely a much bigger waste of fuel over the course of a year than her boat when one compares it to a 30mpg car. In fact, if she did this twice a year, you could personally make up the difference if you drove 24K miles in a 30mpg car vs your Xterra.

I don't know your personal situation as to whether or not this might directly apply, but look at the big picture rather than a specific incident.

And no - there is absolutely no moral difference between my trip to Ireland and her weekend. None.